The Truth About Cancer Survival Rates (It’s Not What You Think)

#002 Cancer death rates are declining—and that’s not by accident.

In this episode of Hope Forward, Lisa Spain, Executive Director of Rexanna’s Foundation, breaks down the truth about cancer survival rates—and why the data is more hopeful than most people realize.

Over the past three decades, cancer death rates have dropped significantly. You’ll learn how research, early detection, precision medicine, and clinical trials are driving real progress, leading to longer survival and better quality of life.

This episode isn’t just about data—it’s about hope, action, and the role we all play in advancing cancer research.

📒 Show Notes and Resources 📒

📈 Cancer Research Resource
https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.70043

Hope in Action
➡️ Stay up to date on cancer screening
➡️ Learn your family health history
➡️ Support cancer research and advocacy
➡️ Share this episode to spread hope

✅ Contact Rexanna's Foundation
https://rexannasfoundation.org/contact/

✅ Follow Rexanna's Foundation
https://instagram.com/rexannasfoundation/
https://facebook.com/rexannasfoundation/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What if I told you that cancer death rates have been steadily declining for more than three decades? Five years has been the average survival rate among people with cancer. We shouldn't be thinking about survival rate in years. We should be thinking about life in moments, life in a matter of days and weeks and months. Bottom line, all of us should be thinking that way. We should really be living life where our feet are planted. If we are chasing just the next day, you want to know that research is adding days to your life. Progress happens, you guys, when we all work together. We need to know and understand research matters. It's making a substantial difference for the lives of patients that are battling cancer every day. Those breakthroughs didn't happen by accident. They happened because people funded research. Hi everybody, welcome to Hope Forward Podcast. I'm Lisa Spain, the Executive Director of Rexana's Foundation. What if I told you that cancer death rates have been steadily declining for more than three decades? Not because cancer has disappeared, not because it's less serious, but because science, research, early detection, and advocacy are absolutely working. According to the American Cancer Society, millions of lives have been saved due to all the advancements in research, from screening, precision medicine, immunotherapy, and prevention. Cancer that once had very few treatment options, now there's targeted therapies that are designed specifically for the patient. They really laser in on the genetic profile of patients. Survival rates are absolutely improving. Hope is increasing, and progress is immeasurable. But here's what's even more powerful, you guys. Those breakthrough look at me, I can't even talk today. I'm so excited about this. Those breakthroughs didn't happen by accident. They happened because people funded research. Patients enrolled in clinical trials. Communities demanded better, wanted more for their friends and families, and doctors pushed the innovation forward. Today we're talking about the latest survival data, what it really means, where we're winning, and where we have work to do. But most importantly, we're going to mention the role that you can play to help continue this amazing momentum. Because progress in cancer, it's not just a medical story. You guys, it's a human one. Five years, five years, think about it. Five years. What can happen in five years? Five years you can complete high school. Five years you can complete a college education. Anniversaries occur. You know, families grow, they change. Think about your sons, your daughters, how they change over five years. Think about your own life. They had different different incremental celebrations in five years. So much happens in five years. But when you think of the average life expectancy in today's society, the average life expectancy for women is 81 years and men 76 years. When you think of five years from that perspective, it seems like a blip, doesn't it? It's just a quick moment. How many times do we look back and say, man, the time just flies? I can't believe that happened. For so many years, five years has been the average survival rate among people with cancer. This is compared to the general population of the same age, same sex, race, ethnicity. Here today, I want to discuss with you the good news that this survival rate has changed and it's radically improving. Usually the first thing that people think about is wait a minute, oh my goodness, Lisa, this is a horrible topic. It's all negative, gloom, and doom. But you guys, I want to start off by saying for a cancer patient, this should not be viewed in years. We shouldn't be thinking about survival rate in years. We should be thinking about life in moments, life in a matter of days and weeks and months. Bottom line, all of us should be thinking that way. We should really be living life where our feet are planted. But I want to take the time to really think about all these warriors that battling cancer and then let you know about the research that's taking place, that's impacting the longevity of life. The research is telling us that quality of life is also improving. Research matters. Yeah, you guys, five years can seem so negative and full of gloom, but in reality, if we are chasing just the next day, you want to know that research is adding light days to your life. In each Hope Forward podcast, we're focusing on three, two, one. We're going to talk about three points of information. Two is going to be our ask an expert section, and then one action, and that's the hope and action segment. So let's get rolling. The three points that I really want to talk about today are first the survival rates of all cancers. I want you to hear this. The survival rates of all cancers for five years has increased from 49%, from 75 to 79, to today to 70%. So think about that. If we go back to 1977, it was 49% five-year survival rate. Now in 2000, the data came through in 21, it's coming out in 26 for the five years. So from 21, the five-year has increased from 49 to 70%. Every single cancer except for, there are two that have not increased, and that's the cervical cancer and endometrial cancer. But all other cancers survival rate have increased over those five years. Why is this important? Gang, you guys don't look at it as a perspective of five years to live. That's where people get confused because they panic. Oh my gosh, the five-year survival rate. We're talking about when this measurement is done, people are still living five years beyond their diagnosis. Okay? That's five years of new memories. That's five years because of innovative treatment. Five years that increases the likelihood of more opportunities. You guys, this is completely the essence of Hope Forward. There are certain demographics that will still remember some of the things that I was thinking about when I was looking about what does this mean, this evolution of time? Think about it. Appendicitis. We used to go into the hospital for days for appendicitis. Maybe a knee surgery that you've had, an ACL. Again, that used to be days in rehab. Now these are in and out. It's amazing compared to what it used to be. Gallbladder surgery, massive, cut open, out for days, out of work for months. Now it is nothing like that. Cancer treatment, you guys, is the same way. What used to be the only option was chemotherapy, but that's quickly evolving with all this innovation. Genetic testing is also making a radical difference. It's allowing us to specialize the options for maintaining your quality of life and the protocol that best fits the cancer. Bottom line, the increase in the survival statistics for five years is absolutely great news. It's a reason to celebrate. This creates a runway for all these incredible researchers, for the people in clinical trials, for the scientists to all lean in and to continue to learn ways that we can keep extending these lives for people that are battling cancer. Point number two, we can all attribute specific changes for these survival rates. First of all, let's talk about treatment. Treatment's certainly way more personalized. There's precision medicine, there's work with biomarker testing that really transforms care. Targeted therapies, immunotherapies, they're all increasing the survival rate. And once cancers that were not, that was not possible are very limited options. Also, I've already mentioned treatments are very tailored for the cancer. I want to say this correctly. Treatments are very tailored to the individual, not just the cancer type. That's important. You have it treated for the cancer type, it's very specific, but now it can be down to the individual. Early detection is also changing these outcomes. I already mentioned some of the radical changes over the years, but let's think about early detections. Early diagnoses lead to much higher survival rates, increased access to screening, breast, colon, lung, cervical. There's so many that have made measurable impacts in cancers just because screening is being done. And now we have a low-dose lung cancer screening that's really improving early stage diagnosis. Point number three, I want to talk about some of the biggest gains in survival in some of the late stage cancers. This is great news. I know for Rexana's foundation, we're super excited to be supporting research for brain meds that are happening for these late stage, stage four cancers. The longevity of life is definitely improving. And these changes also in survival rates are increasing for some of the most difficult and hardest cancers to cure. The more advanced, usually for cancers, are the ones that are the toughest to treat. So all of this is such encouraging news that the survival rate of those diagnosed with cancer has increased. The early stage absolutely is improving, but also those with metatest tumors. Even some of the cancers that have historical low survival rates, the ones with the very lowest have doubled liver, lung, and melanoma have all doubled their survival rates. That's amazing, you guys. Another way to look at survival rates is considering the death rate. Again, I know that sounds super more morbid, but I want to celebrate because the statistics are pretty amazing when you think of the death rate. That death rate has declined by 34% at its peak in 1991. Think about that. It's declined since 1991 by 34%. But let's talk about what those numbers mean. That number of 34% decline represents 4.8 million cancer deaths that did not occur. That's a radical change. That's another reason for hope. That's hope forward, you guys. So why does all this matter? What is the point of all this? You guys, we need to know and understand research matters. It's making a substantial difference for the lives of patients that are battling cancer every day and for all types of cancer across the board. Research adds days to lives. Research allows us to capture those memories. Research enhances our quality of life. There are so many learnings that we can gain from research. It's really important and it truly matters. Research investment also directly saves lives. Part of the mission at Rexana's Foundation is to raise research funds. And I can tell you personally, we have been a foundation for 19 years. And I can tell you for the first basically 10 or 12 years, we were raising money, we were putting it into research, but the results were not there. And that's something you have to know is the research funding that we invest in today, it's down the road for the results. That's why it's so important never to break that continuous investment in research. Federal funding, nonprofit funding, research partners all directly correlate and help improve outcomes. Break views that exist today were truly funded 10 to 20 years ago. That's why I'm so proud of Rex Santa's Foundation because we stayed the course from 2007 to today, raising research funds, even in the bleak years, knowing that it would pay off down the road. And every day I hear success stories and it makes me so hopeful. But I don't want to stop because I know the work we're doing now will impact patients and can continue to improve these numbers. Every research grant, you guys, plants a seed for future survival gains. They're absolutely critical. But survival rates don't only tell the whole story. There's quality of life that matters as well. Survivorship care has been expanded. It really makes a difference for the patients. The doctors are being more conscientious about the quality of care. Side effect management has really been a priority. I serve as a patient advocate on many scientific grant projects, and we're always asking, what's the impact to the patients? What's the side effect? What's the quality of life? What would be some of the ramifications and the impact to the patients directly from this protocol, this medicine, this trial? Mental health and support systems have also been recognized now, and they are putting in protocols in place to support patients. So again, the quality of life goes hand in hand with these survival rates. There's still so much work to do. Let's make no bones about it. We've got work, but the work and investment we put in today are gonna reap benefits for future generations. We can't slow down on the momentum. It truly matters. This momentum we've gained so far needs the urgency of our efforts today. Some gaps that exist are the survival gains are not equal among all populations. We've got to really laser in and figure out the differences in these populations. Also, the differences in the communities, your access to treatment, access to quality patient care, lower income populations, the impact of finances, insurance, all of those are factors when it comes to the momentums we've gained and the survival rates that we have to continue to lean into. I also look back on some of the questions that I get regularly about research. One of the questions I'm asked all the time, where does the research take place? First of all, the two top research hospitals in the world known regularly are the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Sloan Ketterling in New York. Both of these are high-quality research hospitals. But I will tell you there are many across the country. Mayo is in Minnesota. There's several research hospitals that are quality that have so much learnings going on in their labs. There's also several universities that lean into research. Some of the top, obviously, you have Harvard, University of Pennsylvania has high-quality research. Stanford, Duke University, John Hopkins, just to name a few, and there are many out there. I thought when I was putting hospitals in universities that I could start seeing these messages. You forgot this one, you left this one out, but please push back, give us the list, give us the notes. We don't mind here in the comments. YouTube gives you that chance to do it. Let us know the great hospitals that you've been a part of. Another question I get is where does the research funding come from? Research funding, the largest research funder is the National Institute of Health. It is an agency of the government and it provides the largest amount of research funding. The American Cancer Society is a nonprofit. It's one of the largest research funders as a nonprofit. And in the state of Texas, they're unique that they have the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute, and it is also one of the top three funders of cancer research. So there's plenty of options. Obviously, these nonprofits are working to raise dollars in a number of ways that you can support. Also, the federal government encouragement to our legislators to fund. We want it to be fiscally responsible, but the research does matter that the National Institute of Health funds. Now to the second part of the podcast. This is the number two. Ask the expert. So I reached out to several patients and physicians to ask them, just give me a quote about research. What does it mean to you? So I want to share a few of the ones I received. I actually received a plethora of these, but I'm going to share a few. One's from Martha. She's a patient advocate, a real supporter of patients. Martha says, Every lung cancer research project brings us one step closer to a cure. One step closer to a cure brings hopes to patients and their loved ones. When facing lung cancer, everybody needs hope. Here's another quote. It came in from Keith. Keith lost his beautiful wife, Tamara, to lung cancer. She was a never smoker. Two months after my wife passed away, the experimental drug we tried to get for her became standard treatment. We realized that every few months a new treatment was put in place because of research. Man, Keith, you're so right. It's so tough because I get calls all the time. Have you heard about this new treatment? Has this one been approved by the FDA? There's so many hoops to get treatments out there. Clinical trials are essential for the progress of research, but it's really important. That's why I'm talking about research today that we keep the continuity to going. Another quote came from an incredible individual and a good friend of mine, Danny. He says, as someone living with stage four pancreatic cancer, I understand in a deeply personal way how critical medical research truly is. When I was diagnosed, multiple doctors told me I likely had six, three to six months to live, maybe nine from treatment. Today, 16 months later, I'm not just surviving, I'm thriving. Thanks to the opportunities I've had to participate in clinical trials. Research didn't just give me hope, it gave me time. Danny, you are a rock star warrior, buddy. I think you're absolutely amazing and you're a bright shining light. Thank you so much for giving us that feedback. Here's a quote from Dr. Don Gibbons. He's a physician scientist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Gibbons says lung cancer research is critical for us to build on the momentum of new treatments over the last decade that are allowing our patients to live longer and to live better lives. And the final quote I have is short and to the point. It's from a friend of mine, Greg. He says, research is hope. And he did it in all caps. And you guys, he's exactly right. Research is hope. I'm sure so many of you are wondering why I dedicated my first podcast to data, to research. My first reason is this is data that's really just released. So I always promise to bring you relevant, real-time information. Number two, this podcast is meant to be informative and educational. I don't want to shy away from topics that seem scary or topics that could vary depending on the person and their perspective. I will say this though: data is numbers. Sometimes it's not reality for the person. This information that I presented demonstrates that research is hope. But at the end of the day, no matter the cancer, no matter the stage, the diagnosis, there's absolutely always hope. Your mindset, your perspective, whether you're a patient or a family or a caregiver supporting a patient, your mindset matters. Believing there's hope, believing there's opportunity around the corner, believing that there's somebody in a lab working desperately to bring new and innovative resources and techniques to the cancer world. Finally, I think if we're going to look at data and numbers, we need to hear from a source that has experience that can bring clarity to it. And I've had so many years of experience, the ups and downs of research, the ups and downs of the survival rates, the ups and downs of losing patients and patients like Danny that were not given hope and yet he saw the brighter side through clinical trials. Folks, we're down to the last of our podcast, and this is the one point, and this is where hope is in action. Over the next couple of weeks, I want you to consider some options for action and pick one that you can live out hope and action yourself. These will all be included on our show notes. I want you to consider are there screenings that you may need to update? Please call and get an appointment now. Any screenings, your mammogram, your colonoscopy, lung cancer screening, if you qualify, please check it out. Ask your doctor, but consider making those appointments. Early detection is absolutely going to give you options. Next, know your family history. Write it down. Share with your family. Talk about it because your family history absolutely brings as much critical detail for the doctors when they're doing the genetic and molecular testing. Third, you can advocate for research. Every voice matters. Support foundations. You don't have to be a lobbyist in DC. Go to events, support foundations, check out what's available, check out what people are doing. Every single day, somebody can do something to make a difference. And then share the information. You guys, statistics can be gloomy when a patient is battling this disease, but there's great news from the data that's coming out. Difference is being made in these labs. Cancer survival is improving because of this research, because of the screenings, and because of brave individuals who are willing to be a part of clinical trials, and because of communities who choose to care. They lean in to support the patients. Progress happens, you guys, when we all work together. We have to be participants. Today's podcast reminds us that advancements are happening in prevention. They're happening in early detection. And treatment is making a substantial impact in the world of cancer. Millions of lives have been saved due to research-driven progress. You guys, thank you so much for joining me today. This isn't just a podcast. We're trying to create a community. In the show notes, there are so many ways for you that you can reach out for information and sources of the data that I just shared. Leave us feedback if you're on YouTube in the comment sections. It matters and your voice matters. Until next time, you guys, lean in, capture every moment that makes you smile, and remember the good news from our conversation today. Research is improving. There is important progress being made, and you guys, that's definitely hope forward.